Spill, What Spill?

Let's take a look at the word "spill". You spill a glass of water. You spill a pound of sugar. A spill is a specific amount of something that unintentionally and suddenly exits it's vehicle of containment. But, if you forget to turn the faucet off you aren't "spilling" water, right? THAT's a free flow. So how come we have so easily accepted what seems like the deceitful use of 'spill' to define what's going on in the Gulf of Mexico? That ain't no spill, baby.

And since this is an equal opportunity blog be forewarned that there is plenty of criticism to share...the media is doing a sucky job by following somebody's prescribed script. They are in control as far as framing the reality of that copious flow of oil. They have chosen to use the wrong term. They too have chosen to create a scenario that does less to represent the truth of the contributing factors and more to play up the fantasy of the 'bad guys against the good guys', failing to point out that there are 'bad guys' on all sides of the issues.

Of course, the politicians are doing all the de rigeuer hand wringing and swearing to make the guilty pay for their sins. Congressional hearings pretend to demonstrate that our elected officials are actually DOING something when all that is being achieved is an equally prolific 'spill' of verbiage.

BP has willfully lied about the amount of the oil pouring into the ocean and has always seemed more intent on pumping the stuff into a container than containing the gushing stuff. They misspent time, money and the public's goodwill by trying to manipulate the truth of the the volume of the oil and the devastating results of this tragedy.

And then, there is all the lip service being offered to the great god of 'safety'...if we really wanted safe we would not be forcing the oil companies to drill in such deep water where the risk of accidents and the their severity increase with each additional foot. We want the oil but we want getting it to be both aesthetic and cheap. And apparently we have been willing to wink, wink, nudge, nudge where safety regulations are concerned. Those charged with the responsibility overseeing operations have preferred to benefit from a cozy relationship with the very entities they should have been watching.

So all the big players have failed; the media, the government and British Petroleum so Mother Nature and the real people; the hardworking individuals who are just trying to get through the day, get their kids educated, food on the table with enough left over for a six pack are paying the price.

And after all the wailing and finger pointing, nothing changes. The oil still gushes, the media still calls it a 'spill', BP still chants mea culpa unconvincingly and an entire way of life undergoes a slow death. If we learn anything from this mess can it not be to train ourselves to the truth? Oil companies would still make money, media sources would still report the drama and the government would still get votes, but the truth ; that ever elusive truth, would allow the context to be one of reality and response both rapid and relevant.

But when we can't tell the difference between a spill and cascade the oil drenched birds and poisoned oysters are the least of our worries.